A sweet South African heritage delicacy – crisp pastry plaits are fried and dipped in an aromatic syrup! Pastries similar to these originated centuries ago in Batavia in the East and the recipe brought to South Africa by the Malayan settlers together with many other. The syrup needs to be made in advance and chilled overnight. Submersing the hot fried koeksisters in ice cold syrup ensures optimal absorption. A fresh koeksister, still slightly warm and dripping of syrup is an unforgettable experience but if not used on the day of making it is best to freeze for later use and serve straight from the freezer.

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 1 hrs
Cooking time: 30 mins
Serves: 36

Syrup

• 4 cups (1 litre) Chelsea White Sugar
• 2½ cups (625 ml) water
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 x 2,5 cm piece fresh root ginger
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) lemon juice
• ½ tsp (2,5 ml) cream of tartar
• ½ tsp glycerine (optional for extra shiny koeksisters)

Dough

• 4 cups (4 x 250 ml) High grade flour
• ½ tsp (2,5 ml) salt
• 4 tsp (20 ml) baking powder
• 1 Tbsp (15 ml) sugar
• ¼ cup (60 ml) butter
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup (125 ml) milk
• ± ½ cup (125 ml) water
• oil for frying (sunflower or canola)

Method

1. Place the ingredients for the syrup into a saucepan and stir over moderate heat until the sugar has melted.
2. Bring to boil and boil 1 minute.
3. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
4. Allow to cool and chill overnight to make the syrup ice cold.
5. Combine the dry ingredients for the dough and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
6. Beat together the eggs and milk, add to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork, adding as much of the water as necessary to make a soft dough (similar to scone dough).
7. Turn out the dough on a floured surface and knead very gently for 2 – 3 minutes until smooth.
8. Return to the bowl, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes or several hours.
9. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a rectangular shape and about 0.5 cm thick.
10. Cut lengthwise into strips about 4 cm wide and then crosswise into rectangles about 8 cm long.
11. Keeping about 1 cm at the top end of each rectangle intact, cut it into three strips.
12. Plait the strips very loosely to allow for rising while frying and press the ends together well to seal neatly.
13. Set aside on a tray until all the plaits are made and cover with a damp cloth.
14. Divide the syrup into two bowls – use the first bowl until the syrup starts to warm up and then use the second bowl.
15. Return the first bowl with syrup to the freezer to chill again.
16. Pour enough oil into a medium sized saucepan to come 5 cm up the sides of the pan and heat the oil to moderately hot (170 º C).
17. Fry the koeksisters a few at a time until golden on both sides.
18. Lift out with a perforated spoon and place into the ice-cold syrup.
19. Press down lightly for about 30 seconds and lift out with a fork or tongs.
20. Take care not to use the same implements in the oil and syrup.
21. Place onto a cooling rack set over a plate or tray to catch up the syrup that will drain off for it may be necessary to re-use it at the end.
22. Repeat until all the koeksisters are fried and dipped.
23. Serve as a special treat for dessert or with tea or coffee. Delicious!

Being South African, Koeksisters are really one of my favourite treats, and I’ve always wanted to try making it myself. It took me up until June this year (2019), to work up the ‘courage’ because a lot of people kept telling me how difficult and time-consuming it is.

Why did people say that?
Time-consuming because there is waiting time after making the syrup and dough but plaiting and frying weren’t too bad. It was not difficult AT all!

The MOST important step is to make your syrup (the recipe link will be at the bottom of the post) the day before, as it always needs to be ice cold – I made the syrup and divided it between 3 dishes and alternated the dishes as a batch of koeksisters came out of the oil.

The next day, I started by making the dough before I went out for the day.
TIP: use a pizza cutter for easier cutting.
A nice kitchen activity for the kids, because you can do a 2 or 3 strand plait.
I think that most kids will be able to do it.
Remember to show them how to pinch it at the end to keep the plait together.
[Please be careful with the hot oil at all times!]

Test the oil by putting a small piece of the dough in and it starts bubbling.
I watched as they turned a beautiful golden brown color.
When I took them out I put them into the syrup immediately (that’s how they soak up the syrup the best).
I recommend using a fork to roll them around and make sure they are covered.
Once I took them out of the dish,
I put that dish back into the fridge, and took the next cold syrup dish out for the next batch.

Once I’d finished them, my husband got home from work – basically inhaled them – it was a huge success! We had a few left over the next day and they were MUCH better – so if you can wait – I promise it’ll be worth it!

This Bobotie recipe is a simple variation of the more traditional one where one uses a variety of spices. We are not a spice-loving family, so we prefer this simple version. Traditionally, this Bobotie dish is served with yellow rice and raisins, but once again, we love our normal brown rice better. And some people serve it with slices of banana. It cleans the palette after the curry taste, they say.

Ingredients
500g minced meat
1 thick slice of bread
250ml milk
1 onion(chopped)
37.5ml lemon juice
10ml oil
10ml curry powder
5ml salt
5ml sugar
Pinch of pepper
2 eggs
12.5ml apricot jam/jelly or chutney

Method
Soak the bread in the milk
Brown the onion in the oil in a pan
Add the meat
Mix the lemon juice, sugar, salt, pepper and curry powder together
Add mixture to the meat
Add the bread and 150ml of the milk to the meat and press with a fork to make a fine mixture

Add one egg and the jam/jelly/chutney
Pour into an oven dish
Bake for 10 minutes at 180’C
Whisk the remaining egg and milk together
Take out the dish from the oven and pour the egg mixture on top
Bake for another 30 minutes or until firm
Garnish with lemon leaves if desired
Serve with (yellow) rice and enjoy!

Ingredients
4 eggs, separated
200g sugar
60g butter or margarine, melted
140g cake flour
5ml (1 teaspoon) baking powder
pinch of salt
1 litre milk
5ml vanilla essence
40g cinnamon sugar
Note: Weigh all dry ingredients, do NOT convert dry ingredient measurements

Directions
Preheat convection oven to 180C (350F).
Grease 2 x 1 litre volume tart/pie pans or spray with non-stick spray.
Cream melted butter and sugar, add egg yolks and beat until creamy.
Sift cake flour, baking powder and salt together and beat into the egg mixture.
Slowly add milk and vanilla essence and mix well till lump free.
Beat egg whites till firm and fold into milk mixture with a metal spoon; mixture should be thin.
Pour mixture into 2 tart/pie pans and bake for 40 minutes on middle oven shelf till slightly brown and done.
Remove from oven and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Serve hot or cold.

INGREDIENTS
1 (397 g) can condensed milk
400 g sugar or 500 ml sugar
25 ml golden syrup
75 ml water
60 g butter
5 ml vanilla

DIRECTIONS
Put sugar and water into a large heavy saucepan.
Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the butter and syrup and stir until the butter has melted.
Add the condensed milk and stir until it comes to the boil.
Boil very slowly, stirring all the time, until soft ball stage.
Remove from the stove, add the vanilla and beat until it thickens.
Pour into a greased pan and leave to cool.
Cut into squares when cold.